The present invention relates to an antistatic composition which is effective to increase electrical conductivity of a wide variety of substrates, and this increase in conductivity enables the removal of static charges on such substrates. The invention also relates to a method for increasing the electrical conductivity of such substrates.
Static electricity is the electricity of stationary charges, however produced. A wide variety of substrates have a tendency to acquire and retain electrostatic charges, and the static electricity which results can be bothersome and, in certain circumstances, dangerous.
In the case of carpets, a person walking across a carpet may acquire a charge of static electricity, and the subsequent discharge of this electricity from the individual to a grounded object can be quite disturbing.
In various fabrics, films and sheets, static electricity can engender considerable difficulties in the handling of such articles by causing different portions of the same article, or different articles, to cling together. Such clinging can cause difficulty in the processing of such articles on automatic equipment, and such clinging also can interfere with the final utility of the article. In addition, static electricity can cause many types of substrates to attract dust and dirt, thereby hastening the soiling of such substrates. In certain cases, as with photographic film, the attraction of dust and dirt can be especially detrimental.
In environments where vapors having low flash points may be present, the importance of antistatic compositions can be especially appreciated. Such environments include hospital operating rooms and laboratories, and the present invention can serve to eliminate spark hazards which might otherwise occur because of the retention of static charges in flooring material, such as carpets and vinyl flooring.
There exists a need in the art for an antistatic agent, which can be applied to a wide variety of substrates, including but not limited to carpets, in order to increase the electrical conductivity of the substrates to thereby decrease the deleterious effects of static electrical charges which otherwise may have been present in the substrate.